The Avatar
by Vitezo
Summary: A temple is under siege and a dark monster is its only chance of survival.a five minute read that I think is worth your time.


The Avatar

"No! stop it, you mustn't do that. Not in here!" yelled Timoe. The beautiful young cleric had been fighting the Demonkin for five hours. Her short blond hair was matted in blood and her aching body screamed for rest. With all her wariness she could not fail the temple in its hour of need.

"I have no choice! This is the reason the artifact was made. Its very purpose is to protect the temple when all else fails. This is the only way." the old cleric Kit answered her, "the Demons are about to break into the inner sanctum, over three hundred brothers and sisters are dead, we cannot let this go on."

"But to bring him, IT, here, it's madness. You can not summon that dark beast into the inner sanctum, you will defile its very nature. The Avatar must never be invoked, especially in the presence of the Sitaya. We cannot know what effects the artifact will have on the god-thing." Said Timoe.

"Don't be a fool child!" scholded the old priest, "You know perfectly well that the avatar will be at our command. It was weakened by the binding magic and its connection to the god himself is all but severed, the real Vhaerun would not even know of the avatar. It cannot harm us and will never lay his hands on the Holy Blade."

The eleven clerics standing in the inner sanctum turned as the vault door shock with the impact of a massive weight.

"It must be done now!" yelled Kit as he removed the bejeweled onyx horn.

"May Mystra save us all!" said Timoe as she readied her mace and faced the failing doorway.

Kit took the horn to his old lips and blow on it, a chord most beautiful echoed through the holly vault, yet it sound was as sinister as the Demons' aura.

Timoe blinked as a dark purple light appeared in front of Kit. It was as if all light was drawn into the flickering purple orb drowning the nearby area in absolute darkness.

All the clerics in the room went pale as the magnificent avatar of the evil Drow God Vhaerun appeared before them. He was by far the most handsome creature they have ever seen, his black skin sparkled in the candlelight. A thick mane of stark white hair reflected the light in the room, making him look as if his face had an inner light. His features were perfect and he simply radiated power. The avatar looked at his hands and smiled, red fires shone in his eyes as he stared at Kit. A look of horror crossed his unblemished features as his eyes fell on the onyx horn. Those fiery eyes shone even brighter as he said in a voice too beautiful "destroy that horn immediately and I might spare your life!" His tone was so commanding that several of the younger clerics in the room moved towards Kit, their eyes fixed on the magical item.

"No!" the cleric cried, his call breaking the enchantment. "With this I control you, not the other way around. You will obey…" the statement was cut short as the heavy vault door burst open. A Demon was standing on the very edge of the inner sanctum, its segmented eyes protruded from an insect-like head. The beast was 2 meters tall and over half as wide. Its four arms ended in massive claws and its smell was like that of a rotting corpse.

"Destroy them!" screamed Kit, "All the demons in the temple, Kill them all."

With a savage roar of fury the avatar tore his eyes from the magical horn and ran towards the approaching demon. Green light appeared in the demons hand and he throw it at the approaching Drow-elf. With a puff of smoke the figure was gone. The energy bolt went through the smoke and slammed into a young cleric, killing it on the spot.

The demon started laughing, but his six foot frame quivered as a metal crescentblade tore out its chest. The face of the God-thing appeared behind the beasts shoulder

"Smoke and mirrors, deception and deceit, the true Drow way." He said as he sliced the massive beast in half. A wide smile appeared on that evil, perfect face when he saw the body of the young cleric. "Ahh, a job well done. He died valiantly for your cause." The sarcasm in his voice was as blatant as his evil smirk. He raised his curved sword in a mock salute.

"Off to kill more demons, master." the avatar said as it prowled out of the inner sanctum.

Kit and Timoe rushed after the Drow while shouting for the others to stay back and guard the Sitaya.

The Avatar had been locked up for over seven millennia and even for an immortal that was a long time. He longed for some chaos and mayhem. In a few short moments he spotted another demon, its ugly bat-like face twitched as it registered the lone figure running uncommonly fast towards it. The demon used his substantial innate magical powers to summon a killing bolt of magic, and launched it towards the approaching figure.

The Drow met the bolt with the back of his hand and slapped it away.

In less than a heartbeat he was on top of the beast. His crescent blade wove deftly, left then right severing both of the demons arms, in that one fluid motion the Drow reversed the blade's momentum again for the third time, bringing it down low and taking the demons legs. The large demon collapsed on the floor lacking all appendages.

The Drow smiled as he placed his hand over the prone monster's torso. The beast screamed as a bright blue flash coming from the Avatar fingers made its body explode into fragments. Timoe looked on in horror at the immense power of the Avatar.

As the Drow male turned to her; she saw that he was covered in gore. Vhearun looked into her eyes as all the blood on his red and black clothes evaporated into dark and oily smoke, leaving the robes spotless. He flashed a sadistic smile promising death, and moved on.

And so it continued. The Avatar went from floor to floor, room to room, killing everything alive and undead in its path. Many priests died by the indirect hand of the God-thing but many more demons fell before his might and magic. After no more than two hours the temple was again housed by nothing but clerics, and a very excited Avatar.

The power flowed through the Drow, filling him once more. And yet, he felt checked. like a lizard on a leash. He tried to connect once more to his higher being, to escape the physical bonds of the avatar. He couldn't feel it. It was like no part of the immortal's soul was housed in this body. The god felt wrong and he knew the source. The onyx horn! He felt bound to it. For an eternal creature that was an unbearable feeling. He waned to kill every single human in this temple. Yet, he could not. The horn kept him subdued and he could not even destroy it.

Timoe walked the halls of the temple with Kit. They were littered with death. The remaining clerics were busy clearing the bodies of their dead brothers and sisters. The demons that fell dissipated after death, banished from this plane but not dead. Timoe looked at the face of her mentor. The old cleric looked even older now. His skin was grey and clammy, and his eyes were dull.

"Send him back" she said "the temple is cleared, the demons are gone, and you look weakened. The avatar cannot be controlled for much longer. For all our sakes release it!"

"No! stop this!" said the old cleric, "We need him. The Demons attacked twice already and they would do so again. Only the avatar can stop them. We must wait for the third wave. I can hold on."

"For how long? how long can a mortal hold on to a god?"

"We will hold, Vhaerun is no match for the Lady, especially this soulless avatar. It is She who created this horn and it is by her power that the Avatar is held here. He will serve us to his end, he will die for us."

"Or he will find a way to kill us all." Said Timoe

The silence that followed scared her more than the last wave of demons.

The Drow was beautiful beyond believe. The perfection of his face, the clear power in his slight frame… Shandra could not take her eyes off him. Vhaerun walked over to the pretty young acolyte smiling fondly. His sharp features softened immediately resembling nothing more then a darkened face of a kind and beautiful elf.

"Are you feeling alright child? Do you need healing?" he asked her with his sweet and gentle voice.

"no…no.. I am fine, thank you" she said smiling shyly

"No? but I can see you're hurt" he said taking her arm and covering her injured elbow with his hand.

Pleasing warmth spread from that point into Shandra's body, healing her injured elbow and invigorating her.

"Thank you." She said

"By all means, it was my pleasure. Tell me shandra, how did I get here?"

The power of his voice was undeniable, overriding her teachings and everything else. The young priest could see nothing but the crystal clear blue eyes of the beautiful Drow.

"The horn summoned you." She said, her voice slurry "Millennia ago the lady Mystra managed to capture an Avatar of Vhaerun and store it in the sacred horn. That was you, I guess. They say the evil soul of the God was stripped from the avatar and that when released its connection to the god would be severed. You are not Vhaerun you can live any life you want. As soon as you fulfill the Geas set upon you by the Onyx Horn. After you do, you will be free."

"I see, thank you. And what about that jeweled dagger hanging in the room I was summoned to, what was that?"

"That is the Sitaya, the holy Dagger. It held some of Mystra's divinity during the time of trouble. Its power is unclear now that the Lady is in possession of her powers again but…"

"Shandra, move away from it." Said Timoe as she entered the meeting hall where the two were talking. "He is the very essence of danger. Make no mistake child, he is evil!"

"She does not understand me, or us." Vhaerun whispered into Shandra's ear. He kissed her hand while keeping eye contact with Timoe and walked away.

"What did you talk about? you silly girl!" Timoe asked Shandra, her anger evident.

"I can't remember really..." Shandra said, a confused look coming to her face. "A war maybe, I can't… a dagger! He asked me about the Sitaya."

Shandra looked up to see the avatar was gone. She left the young girl and ran to the Inner-sanctum yelling out for Kit.

Vhaerun looked up to the entrance of the vault room, the ten men guarding the entrance would be easy pickings, but he knew he could not harm them while under the power of the Onyx Horn. He decided to take a different approach, summoning up the magic that coursed through his veins he created a dark shadow. It made the light twinkle and the room became full of areas of utter darkness and brilliant light switching places and moving randomly. The men guarding the entrance were on edge and moved closer to each other leaving several gaps in their line. Moving with the stealth so typical of the Drow the avatar slid into the shadows. It took him no more then ten heartbeats to enter the sanctum.

Running with the horn in his hands the old cleric cursed his stupidity, how could he miss the connection? He had been guarding the Sitaya for so long he had forgotten that it was more than just a relic. He watched Timoe run before him and cursed himself again. The sanctum's entrance was bathed in shadows, fear clutched at his heart as both clerics ran into the room.

The dagger was a pretty thing, A 20 centimeter long blade that was mounted on a Silver hilt decorated with various magical beasts. It had no hand guard but just what the Avatar needed, a drop of a true god's blood. He felt the resistance as soon as he reached for the blade, there was a barrier holding his hand from his prize.

Concentrating all his might he moved his awareness to his fingertips, allowing him to focus all of his substantial power to those five long digits. The shattering sound of the shield was a sound as beautiful as his own voice. In one swift movement the avatar raised the blade to his neck and with a single thrust ended its own life.

The clerics arrived just in time to see the lifeless body of the avatar drop.

"Maybe he won't come…" The fear in Kit's voice was as tangible as the body at their feet.

Timoe dropped to her knees and tears streaked her eyes as she prayed.

A figure stepped out of the shadows and with a single flash of a sword decapitated the beautiful young woman.

The red burning eyes of the true Vhaerun were full of mocking as he stared at the shocked old priest.

"Now you will obey!" said the god, "Destroy them all!" an evil smile was on his face as he looked over to the ten guardsmen.

The god's will was too powerful for the old cleric to resist. He took a wand from his belt and pointed it at the men standing at the entrance of the Inner-Sanctum, they could not hear the God's words and looked at their leader with a confused expression. With tears running in his eyes Kit fired a fireball right at the feat of the ten men. Their dying screams of pain were mixed with the old man's wails of grieve and the evil god's chilling laughter.

"Come on old man." Said the avatar. A wide sadistic smile spreading on his exquisite face. "There are many left to kill in the temple."


End file.
